101 Tales from the Borderlands
by EventHorizon6
Summary: A series of snapshots regarding Borderlands 2 vault hunters based on a collection of writing prompts. Tale 72: In which Zer0 discovers the importance of companionship.


**101 Tales from the Borderlands**

 _ **~72~**_

 _ **Calculate**_

Zer0 had never been a sentimental being. Every movement of his form, calculated. Every kill, calculated. He existed for the challenge, not the companionship. With quiet ease, he teased his opponents, his sniper a predator in his hands. The ice blue katana at his hip a gift for any enemy that came too close.

Sawtooth Cauldron was no easy feat. It crawled with bandits, the structures housing the most notorious criminals trapped within a basin of horror. With Maya's phase lock, Salvador's rage, and Axton's turret, the challenge was no more than a rigorous workout. To Zer0, at least. Turn, aim, fire. Critical. Unsheathe, parry, thrust. Kill. Turn –

"AGH!"

The bandit Zer0 had momentarily turned away from at the noise used his metal shield to catapult the assassin forward. Zer0's own shield shattered, but the attack had done little to lower his overall health. Axton was not so fortunate. The commando had been hit, hard, by a badass' gun. His shield was broken, his blood oozing out of the wound. For the moment his turret was keeping the smaller psychos from approaching, but it would not last forever. Zer0 stood, returning his attention to his own assailant when Axton cried out for help.

Salvador was at the far base of the cauldron and Maya was so absorbed in her own fighting she could not see what was happening. Although Hyperion had a convenient digistruct station not far from here, each time one of them was killed in battle the reconstruction fee would rise. Zer0 had lost his life on one account when his new acquaintances could not reach him in time. It was rather dizzying. There was all the pain of death before letting go. A tunnel of bright cyber light and then…reconstruction. Each time one of them was reassembled, the loss of money was insignificant compared to the feeling of losing a piece of yourself.

Axton's turret clicked and collapsed. Out of ammo. Zer0 stood motionless, turning his helm from the thrill of warfare to the sight of Axton needing an arm up. He was quick to assess both scenarios. The assassin had not known these allies for long. What would reviving Axton accomplish for him?

Calculate.

" _I choose the challenge  
Reviving him in combat  
I move for the kill."_

Axton was firing mercilessly at the approaching badass when a dark figure loomed above him. It was Zer0. Before Axton knew what was happening, Zer0 had grabbed the commando beneath the arms, struggling to pull him to his feet. The assassin strapped his own gun to his back and pulled a healing hypo from his pack. With careful precision, Zer0 tacked Axton's shoulder and began injecting the fluid into his bloodstream.

"Keep shooting," the assassin instructed when Axton obliged, already feeling his strength returning. The badass was coming closer with each step, his enormous steel door of a shield keeping Axton's bullets at bay. The commando swore, when, just as Zer0 completed his revival, was shot, being blasted backwards for a second time that day. The assassin's shields were gone, his health near depletion.

"Welcome to die!" howled the badass. Zer0 struggled, being backed against the wall of the cauldron, he could do nothing but continue to fire. He gauged each path, considering every angle and outcome. They all ended in his failure. Just as the badass closed in for the swift and final throw down, a turret streamed through the air. It landed before Zer0, rising from its mechanical coffin and open firing. The badass cried out in pain, being forced back from the barrage of bullets.

"Hey badass!" Axton hollered. Zer0 watched as the badass turned on the commando again. "Shut up already." There was a crack as Axton's rocket smashed into the badass' stomach showering the surrounding area with a barrage of blood and enemy intestines. When the gore had somewhat cleared, there was a momentary break in the bandit onslaught. It gave both Axton and Zer0 a chance to catch their breath. Well, Axton breathed, Zer0 merely scraped the blood from his visor.

Axton looked at Zer0, giving him a cocky grin.

"Thanks! You saved my ass."

For a moment Zer0 didn't respond, until an icon slipped onto his display.

"3."

Perhaps there was more to a challenge than just the hunt. Axton looked down to reload for a mere second when Zer0 cried out, "Attention! Pscyho." Before the assassin could charge with his katana, the psycho sprinting for Axton's back was lifted off of the ground. The bandit shrieked as the orb of majestic cyan and violet encompassed him. Immobilized. Maya leapt from the catwalk of a nearby structure only to land before them.

"Mind if I step in?" she smirked, removing her pistol and firing off a round just as her phase lock wore out. The corpse dropped at Axton's feet, the hollow eyes of the psycho staring into nothing. Maya observed the body of the badass before them before giving the two of them a wicked smile. "Wow, looks like you two had more fun. Maybe I'll stick around next time."

Zer0 slid his saber away. Yes, perhaps there was more to a challenge.

And far more to Pandora than he had ever realized.

 **A/N: I love this game, and since I haven't written anything in what feels like forever, I figured I'd do a little fan fiction on my favorite video game. Thanks all for reading! I'm using a series of prompts I found on DeviantArt by the way. That is why it has number 72 above it.**


End file.
